Who Are You Exactly?
"Who are you exactly?"
Bukjin stared at Jin Ju-je’s face, utterly stunned by her beauty. Her hair and eyebrows were a pale, shimmering silver, reminding him of the elves he had only ever seen in Earth’s fantasy movies. Strangely, her face felt hauntingly familiar.
Wait... is that... Im Jin?
Bukjin’s jaw dropped. The woman standing before him, the High Priestess known as Jin Ju-je, looked exactly like a version of Im Jin ten years into the future, dressed up as an elf for a photoshoot.
The resemblance is uncanny! It’s too much!
"You two, follow me."
Jin Ju-je gave Bukjin a brief, sweeping glance before turning to lead the way. Generally, common believers were expected to offer their prayers in the plaza outside the temple. Only those of noble status or those who had offered significant contributions were permitted to enter the inner sanctum to pray.
Cho Heun had prepared the prayer ritual in advance to help Bukjin awaken his Mystic Energy. Thus, the two of them were able to step into the temple, a place forbidden to ordinary people. Bukjin didn't feel half bad about getting VIP access to a restricted area.
He stuck close to Cho Heun’s back as they entered. The temple was designed so that dozens of massive statues of swordsmen supported the roof, but there were no actual walls. Inside, lamps crafted with Mystic Formations floated in mid-air, illuminating the space. The floor was made of pure white jade, engraved with various sword forms. Mystic Barriers were deployed both inside and out, creating a constant natural breeze that prevented even a speck of dust from settling in the corners. The interior was impeccably clean.
As they moved deeper, Bukjin saw young priestesses, appearing to be around fifteen years old and wearing robes with swords strapped to their waists, moving about busily. Even in their haste, the girls stole glances at Bukjin, whispering secretly among themselves. Their eyes sparkled as they looked at him.
They must be marvelling at my peerless looks.
Bukjin smirked inwardly. It seemed even the priestesses serving the Sword Lord couldn't ignore his handsome features. A handsome face truly is the greatest asset! Since arriving in this world, he felt he had benefited immensely from his appearance.
But wait, are all the priestesses serving the Sword Lord women?!
And they were all young and beautiful, to boot. Don't tell me this 'Sword Lord' deity is some kind of lecher?
Just as Bukjin was entertaining these scandalous thoughts, Jin Ju-je came to a halt.
"We have arrived. First, please show your respect and offer a prayer toward the statue of the Sword Lord. Then, you may present your offering."
Standing before Bukjin was a massive statue of the Sword Lord, carved from a single, giant crystal. As he tilted his head back to look up at it, his expression turned to one of bewilderment.
He had never imagined the Sword Lord would be a woman. The crystal statue towering before him wore armor in the shape of a skirt, with combat boots covering the long legs visible beneath the plates. Her waist was incredibly slender, and her figure was that of a very voluptuous woman. With beautiful features, the Sword Lord’s long hair cascaded down past her thighs. The long sword held in her hand pointed diagonally toward the ground.
The moment Bukjin saw the statue, he was reminded of Wonder Woman from DC Comics back on Earth. The statue possessed a stunning beauty and wore armor very similar to that of the Amazonian warrior. Until this moment, Bukjin had firmly believed the Sword Lord was a man.
"What are you doing, just standing there?"
Cho Heun bowed toward the statue first. Bukjin followed suit, kneeling in the same posture.
"Close your eyes and visualize your own sword within your mind. Offer your gratitude to the Sword Lord, who protects the swordsmen of our North Sea Empire. Clear away all distracting thoughts and feel the power of the Divine Realm with a sincere heart and faith," Cho Heun instructed.
Bukjin tried to do as he was told. However, neither a sword nor a prayer came to his mind. He was only at the temple because Cho Heun had insisted, and his only real thought was a desperate hope that the Sword Lord wouldn't see through his secrets.
About forty minutes passed as Cho Heun and Bukjin offered their prayers. When he finished, Cho Heun turned to Bukjin.
"Do you feel anything?"
Bukjin shook his head. Only then did he realize that the silver-haired High Priestess had already departed at some point.
"There is no need to rush. Let us present the offering and try again."
With those words, Cho Heun placed a blue crystal the size of a fist onto the altar in front of the statue. He had initially thought that with the talent Bukjin had shown for the sword, the boy would succeed in awakening his Mystic Energy even without an offering. However, since no change had occurred yet, he decided to proceed the traditional way.
After placing his offering, Cho Heun stared pointedly at Bukjin. Bukjin quickly realized that Cho Heun was signaling for him to present an offering as well.
I've never been in a situation like this before!
This was his first time in a temple, and while he wanted to ask what to do, he didn't dare speak up. Do all swordsmen who come to the temple have to give an offering? Worrying about it wouldn't give him an answer.
After a moment of hesitation, Bukjin fumbled with the ten gold coins in his pocket. He pulled out three, putting seven back, and walked toward the altar. Just as he was about to set them down, he hesitated again, pulled two more coins back, and finally offered just a single gold coin.
Watching this, Cho Heun looked utterly dumbfounded.
Just one gold coin?
In Cho Heun’s eyes, putting back seven out of ten was one thing, but walking right up to the altar under the gaze of the Sword Lord and pulling back two more coins made Bukjin look like a man with a death wish.
"Put them back. Now!" Cho Heun hissed.
Reluctantly, Bukjin pulled the two gold coins back out and placed them on the altar.
"I have truly never seen a swordsman offer gold coins before," Cho Heun said, glaring at Bukjin with a solemn expression.
"You little brat! Do not even think about playing tricks in such a sacred place. If you incur the wrath of the Deity, your future will be over then and there."
Bukjin nodded frantically. Internally, however, he was weeping tears of blood over the money. My three gold coins!
Currently, Bukjin had no stable source of income. He was merely spending what he had day by day. Maintaining the power for his smartphone cost at least five gold coins a day. That was 150 gold a month. At his current rate, if he didn't eat or buy anything else, he could only keep the phone powered for about two years. If he spent money elsewhere, he wouldn't even last that long.
"Dean Cho, what was that crystal-like stone you placed on the altar just now?" Bukjin asked, trying to change the subject.
"That is a Mysterious Stone. It is a crystal containing the purest and cleanest Mystic Energy. They are extremely rare and incredibly expensive. The stone I just offered was prepared for you by your Master. He hoped that by offering a Mysterious Stone, he could move the heart of the Sword Lord so you could successfully awaken your Mystic Energy."
Master went that far...? He even prepared the offering in advance!
Hearing Cho Heun’s words, a wave of emotion washed over Bukjin. If he had to name the person who had influenced him most and shown him the most care since coming to this world, it was undoubtedly Jeong Sam-seok. Unfortunately, Bukjin had no desire to attract the attention of the Sword Lord.
"Let us continue the prayer."
Cho Heun closed his eyes again and began to pray fervently. Bukjin had no choice but to mimic him. However, his patience quickly ran thin. As his knees began to ache, he squinted one eye open to look ahead.
In that moment, he witnessed something mystical.
A faint light began to emanate from the crystal statue of the Sword Lord. Simultaneously, a white, steam-like vapor began to rise from the Mysterious Stone Cho Heun had offered. It was as if some unknown, mysterious power was acting upon the stone. The vapor rising from it drifted slowly toward the statue and was absorbed into it.
Is the Deity really accepting the offering?
Shock filled Bukjin’s mind. Is this the 'Divine Descent' I've heard about?
He felt the hair on his arms stand up. A massive sense of crisis surged within him. What if the Deity really descends here and realizes I'm a transmigrator from another dimension? In legends, gods were omnipotent and omniscient. Bukjin felt like jumping up and bolting for the exit.
But then...
Ding-dong!
The familiar notification sound of his smartphone rang out.
Master, a new friend request has arrived on the Messenger.
The voice of the AI, Sin-sin, echoed in his mind. At the same time, the smartphone screen appeared before his eyes, launching the Messenger app. Looking at the screen, Bukjin saw a red dot over the friend list, indicating an unread message.
He felt relieved that he was the only one who could see the screen. He tapped the new message.
A friend request with no content appeared. Checking the profile, the user was female, and the name was listed as Geomseol Mumeong. The profile picture was a shot of a woman’s long, seductive legs.
Bukjin didn't hesitate to hit 'Accept'. He was dying to know who this person was.
Once the request was accepted, Geomseol Mumeong appeared in his friend list. Bukjin tapped the profile to check the timeline.
The user's timeline is set to only show posts from the last 3 days.
There were no posts from the last three days. Bukjin decided to send a message to the person he had just added.
The message he wrote was sent instantly.